Worcester City Centre is of great architectural interest with sites dating back over 2000 years. Broad Street was second only to High Street in commercial importance by the 16th century as it contained the business premises of a number of important traders. Several buildings on Broad Street are known to have 17th Century and earlier origins. Number 52 is a Grade 2 listed building; it was probably originally a house and shop 200 years ago. According to English heritage records the facade of the building is constructed from stucco over brick and dates back to around 1820. For many years the building belonged to the Woolwich Building Society, their safe room remains intact on the first floor.

Staff Recommendations – So many to choose from but we like the Boston Tea Rooms opposite for great food, coffee and quirky interior décor, the seats are ex-church pews. They pride themselves in ethically sound products, offer fairly traded coffee and use only free range ingredients.

Local Knowledge – Worcester is built on the banks of the River Severn with its magnificent 11th century cathedral at its heart and has been described as one of England’s finest ‘Shire’ towns, with a vibrant mix of the old and new.

Personal favourites include the magnificent Guild Hall, the Tudor buildings of the Shambles; beautiful Worcester Cathedral, the Royal Worcester Porcelain Museum, The Commandery has a warren of rooms that once served as the Royalist Headquarters for the Battle of Worcester in 1651. The Guildhall is an ornate building by Thomas White, a protégée of Sir Christopher Wren.

Worcester is also very popular with sporting enthusiasts. Worcestershire County Cricket Club play at what has been described as the most beautiful cricket ground in the world playing beneath Worcester Cathedral and beside the River Severn. Other popular sporting venues include Worcester Racecourse and ‘Sixways’ – home of rugby premiership side Worcester Warriors just to mention a few. In the centre of the city the busy High Street offers many well-known shops, whilst the arcades provide a more unique shopping experience.

One of the city’s most famous exports, Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce, is still made in Worcester to its original secret recipe.

Close to Worcester, the SVR is a full-size standard-gauge railway line running regular steam-hauled passenger trains between Kidderminster in Worcestershire and Bridgnorth in Shropshire, a distance of 16 miles. The route follows closely the meandering course of the River Severn for most of the way.

There are many walking around Worcester, the river Severn, the beautiful Malvern Hills, the picturesque Wyre Forrest.

Some of the more popular waymarked routes that have published guide books are listed below

The Worcestershire Way – This 31 mile walking trail from the riverside town of Bewdley to Great Malvern, beneath the Malvern Hills will lead you through the picturesque villages of Abberley, Martley and Knightwick and the valleys of the Rivers Teme and Severn.

The Severn Way – Probably for the more adventurous, a 221 mile waymarked walking trail from the source of the River Severn in mid-Wales to the Bristol Channel.

Wychavon Way – A 42 mile waymarked walking trail stretching from Holt Fleet, a bridging point on the River Severn north of Worcester to Winchcombe in the Cotswolds.

Illey Way – Follow approximately 5 miles of waymarked walking trail between Waseley Hills and Woodgate Valley Country Parks. Taking in rich meadows and quiet woodland.

North Worcestershire Path – A revised route runs 37 miles from Bewdley in the west to Majors Green in the east, across varied countryside.

Blossom Trail Walks – A series of walks in and around the Vale of Evesham’s famous Blossom Trail; 3, 4.5 and 6 mile walks created with springtime blossom in mind – but can be appreciated at any time of year.

Nigel Mee and the Rohan Worcester Team are very proud on their city. They have decided to feature a fascinating story in the Rohan Worcester shop on Broad Street called The Worcester Book that will be part of a large photography project over the next twelve months. Read more on Rohan Worcester and the Worcester Book. The photo at the top and bottom of this page have been chosen for inclusion in The Worcester Book 2012.